TL;DR
- A graphic designer designs pictures and text for print and digital channels, using colour, composition, layout and typography to communicate an organisation's message or brand. The work runs from websites, apps and social media to adverts, reports, packaging and exhibitions.
- The job has six duties: agree the brief, develop and pitch concepts, produce the design, prepare the artwork for print or digital, check and proofread, and work with the people around the design. Employers assess a designer on the portfolio more than the CV, and should say what the job's formats and software are.
- In the UK, copyright in design work arises automatically, so the job description and the contract should say who owns what a designer creates. No qualification is required by law; a visual arts qualification is the standard route, and the portfolio is what employers assess.
Every organisation now publishes constantly, and everything it publishes has been designed by someone: the report cover, the social post, the signage, the app screen. The graphic designer is the person who turns a brief and a brand into something people will look at.
This graphic designer job specification explains what a graphic designer does, sets out six duties, describes the formats and settings the job covers, lists the skills and software employers ask for, explains how to assess a portfolio, notes the UK copyright point that belongs in every design contract, and gives a template that you can adapt.
Design work moves through briefs, drafts and approvals, and they should be visible to everyone involved. See how New Dynamics workflows let you shape forms, stages and approvals around the way you work.
What is a graphic designer?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a graphic designer as “someone who works in graphic design”, and graphic design as “the designing of pictures and text for books, magazines, advertising, etc.” Prospects, the UK graduate careers service, describes the job in its graphic designer job profile: graphic designers “use their creativity to create eye-catching visuals for print and digital channels, communicating an organisation's message or brand”, using “design skills in colour, composition, layout, and typography”.
Prospects lists the formats a designer is likely to work on: websites, apps and social media channels; adverts; books, reports and magazines; posters, flyers, banners and programmes; billboards; video games; product packaging; exhibitions and displays; and corporate communications, campaigns and identity, “i.e. giving organisations a visual brand”. It describes the shape of the work in one sentence: “After agreeing a brief with the client, creative director, or account manager, you'll develop appropriate concepts that meet the client's objectives.”
Graphic designer duties: six responsibilities
- Agree the brief. Meet the client, the account manager or the internal team to understand the objectives, the audience, the message, the formats, the budget and the deadline, and estimate the time the work will take.
- Develop and pitch concepts. Think creatively to produce ideas, develop them into concepts that suit the client's purpose within the time and cost constraints, and present them.
- Produce the design. Turn the chosen concept into the finished design: layout, typography, colour, imagery and, for digital work, interaction, working from rough sketches to final files.
- Prepare the artwork. Prepare files correctly for print or digital delivery, with the right formats, resolutions, colour profiles, bleeds and specifications, and commission illustrators and photographers where the brief needs them.
- Check and proofread. Proofread for accuracy, check the work against the brief and the brand guidelines, and correct it before it goes anywhere.
- Work with the people around the design. Prospects lists printers, copywriters, photographers, stylists, illustrators, other designers, account executives, web developers, and advertising and marketing specialists.
Where graphic designers work
| Setting | What the job looks like |
|---|---|
| Design or advertising agency | Many clients, many briefs, account managers in between, tight deadlines, a creative director above |
| In-house | One organisation's brand across everything it publishes; closer to marketing and the business, fewer clients |
| Freelance | Your own clients, quotes, invoices and hours; Prospects notes irregular hours and reliance on networking for work |
Prospects notes that the work demands “creative flair, up-to-date knowledge of industry software, and a professional approach to time, costs, and deadlines”, and that extra hours are likely as deadlines approach. A job specification should say which setting the job is, which formats dominate, who the designer takes briefs from and who signs off the work. For the marketing side that usually commissions the work, see our marketing manager job description; for the person who signs off the work, see our head of creative job description.
Skills and software employers ask for
- Design craft. Colour, composition, layout and typography, the four Prospects names, and the judgement to use them for the audience rather than the designer.
- Concept thinking. Ideas that answer the brief, and the ability to explain why.
- Software. The industry design applications for layout, illustration, image editing and, increasingly, interface and motion design. Name the ones the job uses; do not list every tool ever made.
- Print and digital production. Knowing how a file becomes a printed piece or a live screen, and preparing it so that it does.
- Attention to detail. Proofreading, consistency and brand compliance.
- Time and cost discipline. Estimating, quoting and delivering to deadline.
- Collaboration and taking feedback. Design is revised more than it is approved first time. Our employee feedback guide is written for the people giving it.
Qualifications and the portfolio
No qualification is required by law. Prospects describes the profession as one where a degree or foundation degree in graphic design or a related subject is the usual route, though employers put the portfolio first, and where experience, placements and a strong online presence matter. In practice the portfolio is the qualification: a set of finished pieces, with the brief and the designer's contribution explained for each, that shows range, craft and judgement. An employer should assess it against the job's formats, and ask the designer to talk through one piece from brief to delivery.
The copyright point
In the UK, copyright in artistic work arises automatically. GOV.UK's guide to copyright says: “You get copyright protection automatically - you do not have to apply or pay a fee”, and that protection covers original artistic work including illustration and photography, as well as software, web content and the layout of published editions. For an employed designer, work created in the course of employment normally belongs to the employer; for a freelancer, it normally belongs to the designer unless the contract says otherwise. The job specification and the contract should state who owns the work, what the designer may show in a portfolio and what happens to source files. This is general information about the UK, not legal advice; other countries' rules differ.
Graphic designer job specification template
Adapt the setting, the formats and the software.
Job title: Graphic designer [junior / middleweight / senior]
Reports to: Creative director, design lead or marketing manager
Hours: Full time, [office-based, hybrid or remote], with occasional extra hours at deadlines
Purpose of the role: To design [the organisation's / clients'] print and digital communications, from brief to final artwork, to the brand guidelines and on time.
Main duties:
- Take briefs from [clients, account managers, the marketing team], clarify objectives and estimate time
- Develop and present concepts that answer the brief within time and budget
- Produce finished designs for [websites, social media, reports, packaging, exhibitions] in [software]
- Prepare print-ready and digital artwork to specification and commission illustration and photography where needed
- Proofread, check against brand guidelines and manage revisions
- Work with printers, developers, copywriters and marketing colleagues to deliver the work
Skills and experience:
- A portfolio showing craft in layout, typography, colour and composition across [formats]
- Proficiency in [named design applications]
- Understanding of print production and digital delivery
- Organised, accurate and reliable to deadline
- Open to feedback and able to explain design decisions
- Degree or equivalent in graphic design or a related subject, or equivalent experience
Ownership of work: Work created in this role belongs to [the organisation]; you may include it in your portfolio with permission.
We provide: [Software and equipment], a design lead for feedback, time for professional development and a route to senior designer and design lead roles.
For the layout of the whole document, use our job description template. For another design profession with a different brief, see our interior designer job description.
Common mistakes in graphic designer adverts
Every tool listed. A page of software names tells candidates nothing about the work. Name the formats and the three applications that matter.
No portfolio guidance. Say what you want to see and how it will be assessed.
Ownership unstated. Copyright and portfolio rights belong in the specification, not in an argument later.
A designer expected to be a marketer, a developer and a photographer. If the job needs three professions, say so and pay for it.
Frequently asked questions
What does a graphic designer do?
A graphic designer designs pictures and text for print and digital channels, using colour, composition, layout and typography to communicate an organisation's message or brand. They agree the brief, develop and pitch concepts, produce the design, prepare the artwork, proofread and check it, and work with printers, developers, copywriters and marketing colleagues.
What should a graphic designer job specification include?
The setting and the formats, who briefs the designer and who signs off, the six duties, the named software, the portfolio requirements and how it will be assessed, ownership of the work, the hours and the route to senior designer roles.
What skills does a graphic designer need?
Design craft in colour, composition, layout and typography; concept thinking; proficiency in the industry software; understanding of print and digital production; attention to detail; time and cost discipline; and the ability to collaborate and take feedback.
What qualifications does a graphic designer need?
None by law. Most designers hold a degree or foundation degree in graphic design or a related subject, but employers assess the portfolio first. Experience, placements and a strong online presence matter.
Who owns a graphic designer's work?
In the UK copyright arises automatically. Work created by an employee in the course of employment normally belongs to the employer; work by a freelancer normally belongs to the designer unless the contract says otherwise. The job specification and contract should state ownership and portfolio rights. This is general information, not legal advice.
How do you assess a graphic designer's portfolio?
Against the job's formats: look for finished pieces with the brief and the designer's contribution explained, range across print and digital where the job needs both, craft in typography and layout, and evidence of delivering to a brand and a deadline. Ask the designer to talk through one piece from brief to delivery.
Your next step: write the brief for the job like a brief for the work
- Name the formats, the setting and the three applications that matter.
- Say what the portfolio should show and how you will assess it.
- State who owns the work and what the designer may show.
- Interview by walking through one portfolio piece from brief to delivery.
Feedback is most of a designer's working life. Read and download our employee feedback guide for how to give it well. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want briefs, revisions and sign-offs to run through one workflow with the designer's goals alongside? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current process. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
